1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disposable needle cover for protecting and facilitating safe disposal of a hypodermic needle. More particularly, it relates to a disposable needle cover that allows a hypodermic needle to be safely removed from a syringe and disposed of.
2. The Prior Art
Various types of syringe assemblies for receiving and dispensing medications, as well as other materials have been known. In general, the medications or other materials are introduced into the hollow barrel portion either by receiving the same through the needle which communicates with the barrel interior, or by means of a protective container, such as an ampule, which is placed within the hollow barrel. Applying pressure to the plunger causes the medication or other material to be expressed through the hollow needle.
These various assemblies are often used for patients suffering from infectious diseases. Therefore, it has been considered of great importance in the art to avoid accidents, where doctors, nurses or other persons suffer accidental puncture wounds from used needles. Presently, the safe disposal of used syringes and needles is considered a serious problem in the art, particularly in light of the recent spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and hepatitis, and the widespread abuse of syringes and needles by addicts for administering illicit drugs.
In order to prevent the incidents of puncture wounds which are sometimes accidentally self-inflicted by doctors, nurses and hospital housekeeping staff, there has been a need to provide a simple method for immediately covering a hypodermic needle after use.
One such attempt is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,564. This patent discloses a protective container for a needle. However, this patent has certain drawbacks, in that the protective container must be manually moved from the open position into the closed position. A further drawback exists in that since the needle receiving grooves are centrally disposed along each container half, placement of the needle within the grooves does not cause the container to be closed around the needle.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a disposable needle cover, where placement of the needle into the cover causes the cover to move toward the closed position. Furthermore, it would be desirable to have a needle cover that is biased into the closed position once the cover has been pivoted partially toward the closed position.